Honors College Welcomes Special Alumni Guests in 2012
The Honors College at Washington State University welcomed several guests for discussions and presentations this past year. Some were alumni of the program, highlighting the successes of graduates from the Honors community.
Honors Alumnus Talks Military Space Programs
The Honors College welcomed Richard McKinney (’73 Business Administration and Honors) in April 2012 for a presentation on how the U.S. Air Force uses space for supporting the country’s armed forces around the world.
McKinney provides guidance, direction, and oversight for the formulation, review, and execution of military space programs in his job as Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs. He served in active duty for the Air Force for 28 years before retiring as a colonel and was then appointed to the Senior Executive Service, a corps of federal executives charged with leading the continuing transformation of government.
He received the Exceptional Civilian Service Award in July 2007, the highest medal of its kind granted by the Air Force.
State Senator and Honors Alumnus Visits Honors
Students in the Honors College were given the opportunity in April 2012 to visit with state Sen. Michael Baumgartner (’99 Economics and Honors).
A consultant and former diplomat, he currently represents Spokane in the Washington state legislature. In addition to his WSU degree, the Pullman native earned his MPA from Harvard University, where he was also a teaching fellow in economics.
Baumgartner (R-Spokane) is currently a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Food Safety Attorney and Honors Alumnus Brings E. Coli to the Table…for Discussion
Bill Marler (’82 Political Science, English, Economics, and Honors) visited WSU in March 2012. In addition to being an invited speaker at the Common Reading Tuesdays lecture series, he talked to students, faculty, and staff about food safety and related lawsuits at an event hosted by WSU’s Foley Institute held in the Honors Hall Lounge.
Author Jeff Benedict joined Marler, who is an expert on the “Jack-in-the-Box E. coli outbreak” of the early 1990s. His passion for the subject began when he represented a plaintiff in the case against Jack in the Box. Benedict wrote the book “Poisoned” about the outbreak, detailing Marler’s role in securing substantial monetary awards for victims and their families.
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— by Jared Brickman